Systems and methods to facilitate real time communications between members of a social network

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems to facilitate real time communications and/or commerce via a social network. In one embodiment, communication references are provided to facilitate the requests for real time communications with a member of the social network via a connection provider, which performs scheduling, filtering, payment processing, etc. for the member of the social network. In one embodiment, a method includes, responsive to a request from a first member of a social network, determining a preference of a second member of the social network based at least in part on a characteristic of a social connection between the first and second members who are not socially directly connected in the social network; and facilitating real time communications between the first and second members in accordance with the preference. In one embodiment, the presentation of the advertisement or the advertiser is at least partially based on the social network.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present patent application claims the benefit of the earlier filingdate of a provisional U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/911,041, filedApr. 10, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

TECHNOLOGY FIELD

At least some embodiments of the disclosure relate to communicationconnections in general and more particularly but not limited toconnecting people via a social network for real time communications.

BACKGROUND

People can use telephone systems to conduct real time two-way voicecommunications without having to be at the same physical location.Traditional land-line based telephone systems connect one telephone setto another through one or more switching centers, operated by one ormore telephone companies, over a land-line based telephone network whichwas typically a circuit switched network.

Current telephone systems may also use a packet switched network for atelephone connection. A packet switched network is typical in a computerdata environment. Recent developments in the field of Voice overInternet Protocol (VoIP) allow the delivery of voice information usingthe Internet Protocol (IP), in which voice information is packaged in adigital form of discrete packets rather than in the traditionalcircuit-committed protocols of the public switched telephone network(PSTN).

Cellular communication networks allow a cellular phone to connect to anearby cellular base station through an air interface for wirelessaccess to a telephone network. Recent developments in wireless telephonesystems allow not only voice communications but also datacommunications. For example, cellular phones can now receive and sendmessages through a Short Message Service (SMS), a Multimedia MessageService (MMS), or data communication connections. For example, web pagescan be retrieved through wireless cellular links and displayed oncellular phones. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) has been developedto overcome the constraints of relatively slow and intermittent natureof wireless links to access information similar or identical to WorldWide Web.

Telephone systems are frequently used in conducting business. Telephonenumbers are typically provided in advertisements, web sites,directories, etc., as a type of contact information to reach businesses,experts, persons, etc.

The Internet provides another communication media that can also be usedas an advertisement media to reach globally populated web users. Forexample, advertisements can be included in a web page that is frequentlyvisited by web users. Typically, advertisements included in web pagescontain only a limited amount of information (e.g., a small paragraph,an icon, etc.); and links in the advertisements are used to direct thevisitors to the web sites of the advertisers for further detailedinformation. For certain arrangements, the advertisers pay for theadvertisements based on the number of visits directed to their web sitesby the links in the advertisements, or based on the number ofpresentations of the advertisements.

Performance based advertising generally refers to a type of advertisingin which an advertiser pays only for a measurable event that is a directresult of an advertisement being viewed by a consumer. For example, inone form of performance-based search advertising, an advertisement isincluded within a result page of a keyword search. Each selection(“click”) of the advertisement from the results page is the measurableevent for which the advertiser pays. In other words, payment by theadvertiser is on a per click basis in such advertising.

A social network represents a social structure in which a network ofnodes can be used to represent a network of individuals or organizationsand the connections between the nodes in the network represent thedirect social connections. Web sites can be used to register the socialconnections of members of a social network and provide features such asautomatic address book updates, viewable profiles, services to introducemembers to each other to make new social connections, etc. Some internetsocial networks are organized around business connections; and someinternet social networks are organized around common interests.

SUMMARY OF THE DESCRIPTION

Methods and systems to facilitate real time communications and/orcommerce via a social network are described here. Some embodiments aresummarized in this section.

In one embodiment, a social network is used to provide information aboutan advertiser to demonstrate the trustworthiness of the advertiser topotential customers. In one embodiment, the presentation of theadvertisement or the advertiser is at least partially based on thesocial network. In one embodiment, communication references are providedto facilitate the requests for real time communications with a member ofthe social network via a connection provider, which performs scheduling,filtering, payment processing, etc. for the member of the socialnetwork.

In one embodiment, communication references are provided to facilitatethe requests for real time communications with a member of the socialnetwork via a connection provider, which performs scheduling, filtering,payment processing, etc. for the member of the social network. In oneembodiment, a method includes, responsive to a request from a firstmember of a social network, determining a preference of a second memberof the social network based at least in part on a characteristic of asocial connection between the first and second members who are notsocially directly connected in the social network; and facilitating realtime communications between the first and second members in accordancewith the preference.

The present disclosure includes methods and apparatuses which performthese methods, including data processing systems which perform thesemethods, and computer readable media which when executed on dataprocessing systems cause the systems to perform these methods.

Other features will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and fromthe detailed description which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not limitation inthe figures of the accompanying drawings in which like referencesindicate similar elements.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a user interface to integrate a socialnetwork and an advertisement network.

FIG. 2 illustrates a user interface for the creation of an advertisementaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates an interface which can be used by a member of asocial network to locate services providers according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a system to connect customers to experts according toone embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of providing advertisements via a socialnetwork according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of presenting an advertiser via a socialnetwork according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7 shows a method to establish connections for real timecommunications according to one embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a user interface to manage availabilityfor receiving phone calls according to one embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows a diagram illustrating a method to select a type oftracking mechanism with a corresponding reference for embedding in anadvertisement according to one embodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of telephone call tracking mechanismswhich can be selected according to one embodiment.

FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a system to make and track phone connectionsaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 12 shows a system including a connection server configured on apacket switched network according to one embodiment.

FIG. 13 shows a connection server according to one embodiment.

FIG. 14 shows a block diagram example of a data processing system whichmay be used in various embodiments.

FIG. 15 shows a method to facilitate real time communications betweenindirectly connected members of a social network according to oneembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the description. It will be apparent, however, to oneskilled in the art that embodiments of the disclosure can be practicedwithout these specific details. In other instances, structures anddevices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring thedescription.

Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentof the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” invarious places in the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodimentsmutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features aredescribed which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others.Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirementsfor some embodiments but not other embodiments.

In the disclosure, the term “advertisement” may refer to variousdifferent forms of presentations to attract attention or patronage. Anadvertisement may be simply a listing of identity and contactinformation (e.g., in a web page, a print media, a telephonic listingservice, etc.), or a passage including one or more statements aboutbusiness offering, etc., or a banner with graphical content and/oranimation embedded in a web page, or a voice message presented in avoice channel (e.g., radio broadcasting, a voice portal with InteractiveVoice Response (IVR), which may accept user input through voicerecognition or through keypad input generated Dual Tone Multi-Frequency(DTMF) signals), or others.

In one embodiment, a social network is used to establish a measure oftrustworthiness between people, such as advertisers and their customers,service providers and their customers, sellers and their customers, etc.

In one embodiment, a social network is used to establish trust betweenservice providers/sellers and customers/buyers. The degrees ofseparation in a social network can be used as a measurement oftrustworthiness in searching for service providers/sellers. For example,in a marketplace of human-expertise a social network allows a customerto search for service providers (e.g., therapists) who are within anumber of degrees of separation from the customer in the social network.For example, the customer may limit the search of therapists to thosewho are known to someone the customer knows (e.g., within two degrees ofseparation in the social network).

In one embodiment, the social network is used to verify credentials ofpeople involved in a marketplace, such as a human-expertise marketplace.For example, the social network can be used to verify credentials of aseller/service provider/advertiser and thus to increase the trust in theperson the customer is looking to talk to. For instance, a customer maysee that a therapist went to a college for her degree; and the socialnetwork can display testimonials from her professors and classmates thatshe indeed went to that college and indeed is high quality.

In one embodiment, a social network is integrated with a service marketplace in which services are provided via a connection for real timecommunications, such as a telephonic connection, an instant messagingconnection for text, voice and/or video communications, etc.

In one embodiment, a social network is integrated with an advertisementsystem which allows customers to assess the trustworthiness of theadvertisers.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a user interface to integrate a socialnetwork and an advertisement network. In FIG. 1, a user (e.g., JoeSmith) of the social network can select the “My Profile” tab (101) toview/edit the member profile of the user.

In one embodiment, the social network includes a database that containsdata representing the relations between a set of members. In a socialnetwork, a member may be represented by a node; and a direct relationbetween two members is represented by a connection. After the directrelations between members are specified, the database can be used todetermine the relations between members that are indirectly connected.For example, the member may identify a friend's friend via the serviceof the database.

In one embodiment, the number of connections along the shortest path inthe social network between two members is considered the degree ofseparation between the two members. There may be more than one shortestpath between the two members.

In one embodiment, the database of the social network further includesinformation about the members, which are considered the profile data ofthe members.

For example, a member may edit his/her profile data via the userinterface illustrated in FIG. 1. The profile data can include the nameof the member, the location of the member, the current and/or past jobtitle of the member, the industry the member is specialized in, thewebsite of the member, the education experiences of the member, etc.

In one embodiment, at least part of the profile data is public; and thepublic data is visible to other members and/or non-members. In oneembodiment, the member may specify a setting to selectively classifycertain information as private profile data; and the access to theprivate profile data is limited according to a set of rules.

In FIG. 1, the user interface also allows the member to sign up (103) asadvertisers to promote their businesses and/or services. In oneembodiment, the system presents advertisements for the advertiser; andthe advertiser is charged an advertisement fee when a customer'sincoming call is connected to the advertiser via the advertisement. Inone embodiment, the advertiser is not charged an advertisement fee ifthe presentation of the advertisement does not cause a customer to callthe advertiser. Alternatively or in combination, the connection providercharges a commission fee when the advertiser sells services and/orproducts over the communication connection (e.g., telephone connection)provided by the connection provider.

When an advertiser is identifiable as a member of the social network,the social network can be used to provide information about theadvertiser and/or to establish the trust between a potential customerand the social network. The potential customer may use the socialnetwork to find the connections of the advertiser with other peoples, tofind the recommendations, feedback, comments made about the advertiserby the others who the customer can trust, etc. Further, if the customeris also a member of the social network, the customer may determine thesocial distance from the advertiser and find someone them may know incommon for an opinion about the advertiser.

In FIG. 1, the user interface includes a link (105) which allows themember to recommend people who the member knows. In one embodiment, thecomments, feedback, ratings of the prior customers are weighted orlabeled or sorted based on the social distances between the customersand the advertiser/seller/service provider. Using the social network, apotential customer can find a personalized view of the information basedon the social relations among the potential customer, theadvertiser/seller/service provider and the prior customers who providedthe comments, ratings, feedback, recommendations, etc. For example, thetrustworthiness of the comments, ratings, feedback, and recommendationscan be rated, sorted and presented according to the social networkstructure (e.g., social distances, connections of a member of the socialnetwork, recommendations made by a member of the social network, etc.).For example, a member may assign a value for a trustworthiness indicatorto members who are directly connected to the member in the socialnetwork structure; and using the social network the system can evaluatea value for the trustworthiness for indirectly connected members.Separate indicates may be used for feedback, recommendations, etc. Inone embodiment, the social network system collects information for theautomated evaluation of a value for a trustworthiness indicator of afriend of member of the social network structure, which can be furtherused to compute the value for the trustworthiness indicator forindirectly connected members. For example, a member may rate thetrustworthiness of feedbacks, recommendations, ratings, etc. of othermembers. In one embodiment, the social network system uses thetrustworthiness indicator to sort information such as feedbacks,recommendations and/or to select advertisements for presentation. Thesystem may or may not display the value of the trustworthiness indicatorto the users.

In FIG. 1, advertisements are delivered to the member based on theprofile information the social network has about the member and/or otherinformation in one embodiment. For example, the advertisement (107)includes a phone number (109) and an icon (111), which can be used torequest a connection provide to provide a telephone connection betweenthe advertiser and the member.

In one embodiment, the phone number (109) is assigned to theadvertisement (107) by a connection provide for tracking the response tothe advertisement. When the phone number (109) is called by a customer,the call is connected to the connection provider, which determines thephone number of the advertiser based on the phone number (109) that isdialed to reach the connection provider. The connection provider thenfurther connects the call to the advertiser. In one embodiment, theadvertiser is charged an advertisement fee per the connection of thecustomer call to the advertiser. Alternatively or in combination, theadvertiser may be charged based on the number of presentations of theadvertisement made on behalf of the advertiser and/or based on asubscription agreement.

In one embodiment, when the icon (111) is selected, the connectionprovider calls back the member and calls the advertiser separately toconnect the member and the advertiser. In one embodiment, when the icon(111) is selected, a VoIP application is used to connect the member tothe advertiser via the connection provider. In another embodiment, theVoIP application tracks the calls made through the advertisements tobill the advertiser accordingly. In one embodiment, when the icon (111)is selected, a VoIP application is used to call the phone number (109)to request the connection provider for a connection to the advertiser.

FIG. 2 illustrates a user interface for the creation of an advertisementaccording to one embodiment. The user interface may be presented via webin a web browser.

In FIG. 2, an interface (141) allows the advertiser to describe an offer(or a switch pitch, or a cross sell, or some advertising content). Theadvertiser can specify the business contact information for theadvertisement, including the business name, street/mailing address,phone number and fax number. The advertiser/seller is encouraged to tellcustomers via concise marketing messages what is being offered and whythe customers should call the advertiser/seller. For example, theadvertiser is encouraged to include promotional offers in the marketingmessages to get buyers to call the advertiser. Examples of promotionaloffers include: “Call today and get $5 off,” “Free consultation—limitedtime,” and “Call now and save 10%.”

In one embodiment, an audio and/or visual advertisement is generatedbased at least in part on the information submitted by the advertiservia the user interface (141) (e.g., for presentation via virtual realty,directory assistance service, search result, etc.)

In one embodiment, a short audio advertisement is generated based on theconcise marketing message (e.g., two sentences, each having a lengthlimit, such as 35 characters). The concise marketing message can be readby a human to generated a recorded audio file for a short audioadvertisement, or be converted into an audio message via atext-to-speech synthesizer. In one embodiment, the audio advertisementalso includes the business name.

In one embodiment, a visual presentation of the advertisement may beused to supplement the audio advertisement. For example, the address ofthe advertisement can be presented in a visual advertisement, togetherwith additional information that is specified in the business profilepage of the advertisement. In response to a request from the customer,the visual component of the advertisement can be sent to the customervia an SMS message, via an email, via a custom application, via aweb/WAP page, etc.

In one embodiment, the advertisement is sent to a user device in textaccording to a pre-determined format (e.g., in XML or a custom designedformat) to allow a client application running on the user device topresent the advertisement in a custom format. For example, the clientapplication may present the short marketing advertisement in an audioform via a text-to-speech synthesize and the present a selected portionof the advertisement as an animation (e.g., present an electronic couponvia an animation). For example, a Java applet can be downloaded into thebrowser of the user to facilitate VoIP-based phone communication andperform at least part of the text-to-speech operations to enableimproved compression in transmitting audio advertisements.

In one embodiment, when an advertisement is presented to the user via aweb or a virtual reality environment, the short audio advertisement canalso be included; and the audio advertisement can be playedautomatically or after the user selects the advertisement.

In FIG. 2, the interface (141) may be implemented as a web page.Alternatively, an advertisement may submit the advertising content via acustom client application, or via a message gateway (e.g., an instantmessage, an email, an SMS message, etc.). In one embodiment, one or moreadvertisements can be uploaded into a server via a spreadsheet, or via aweb service interface.

In one embodiment, the system converts the text input received from theadvertiser into an audio advertisement. In one embodiment, the audiofile for the advertisement is stored in the advertisement database;alternatively, the text input can be converted into the audioadvertisement (e.g., via a text-to-speech synthesizer, or a humanannouncer) when the audio advertisement is needed. In one embodiment,the machine synthesized audio recording are stored in the database for aperiod of time and deleted if not used after a predetermined period oftime, or when the usage of the audio advertisement is lower than athreshold.

FIG. 3 illustrates an interface which can be used by a member of asocial network to locate services providers according to one embodiment.In FIG. 3, the entry box (301) can be used to specify a search criterion(e.g., one or more keywords); the entry box (303) can be optionally usedto specify a criterion for degrees of separation in the social network.For example, the member may search for an account who is within 2degrees of separations from the member in the social network.

In FIG. 3, a member may also browse through a directory structure (e.g.,categories of services) to locate a service provider. For example, inresponse to the member selecting the “accountant” category,advertisements (311) and recommendations (313) are displayed. Theadvertisements (311) can be selected based on matching the location ofthe service providers and the location of the member, the bid prices ofthe advertisements, etc. In one embodiment, advertisers can specify thebid prices for the advertisement fees which are charged when thecustomer calls the phone number (e.g., 309) to reach the advertiser.

In one embodiment, when the advertiser is also a member of the socialnetwork, the advertisement includes an indication (315) of socialdistance between the advertiser and the user of the interface. Further,in one embodiment, a link (317) to the profile of the advertiser isprovided to allow the customer to research the advertiser before callingthe advertiser.

In FIG. 3, the recommendations from the members of the social networkfor the service providers in the selected category (e.g., accountant)are presented based on the social distances to those who make therecommendations. For example, in FIG. 3, the member can select the tab(321) to view the accountants recommended by the friends of the memberand select the tab (323) to view the accountants recommended by thefriends of friends of the member.

In FIG. 3, a link (307) can be selected to request a user interface formaking a recommendation for a service provider. In one embodiment, thesystem allows a member to recommend any service providers.Alternatively, a member may be limited to make recommendations forservice providers who have direct connection with the member, who haveprovided services to the member via the system, and/or who are within acertain distance from the member in the social network.

FIG. 4 illustrates a system to connect customers to experts according toone embodiment. In FIG. 4, a member of the social network can post aquestion that can be answered by other members of the social network. Inone embodiment, the question is posted in a category (e.g., a businessarea or technology field) for answers from members who are specializedin the category (e.g., due to their past experiences, education, orcurrent job positions).

In FIG. 4, the user (Joe) is viewing a question (401) which is posted byanother member (Lui Magarian), whose profile is summarized in a banner(403). The banner (403) can be selected to view further details aboutthe member (Lui Magarian) who asked the question. For example, a link(405) can be selected to see other questions asked by the member (LuiMagarian)

In FIG. 4, the user (Joe) can select the icon (407) to provide an answer(407) or the icon (409) to suggest an expert to answer the question(401). Alternatively, the user (Joe) may chose to reply to questionprivately, or forward the question to an expert the user (Joe) knows.

In FIG. 4, the user (Joe) can also see a number of existing answers tothe question posted by other members (e.g., Rob Berman, Furqn Naz). InFIG. 4, banners (411, 413) are displayed to show the brief summaries ofthe members who provided the existing answers.

For example, the banner (441) shows that Rob Berman, who is a consultantin corporate communications, strategic planning and businessdevelopment, has provided a number of best answers categories such as“starting up”, “accounting”, etc.

In one embodiment, the answers can be rated by the member who posted thequestion (and/or other members who reviewed the answers). Thus, thequality of the answers provided by the experts can be rated and ranked.Such feedback provides an evidence of credentials of the experts inproviding advices in certain fields.

In FIG. 4, the icon (415) also shows that the expert is currentlyavailable to provide advices over a real time communication connection.In one embodiment, when the icon (415) is selected, the user (Joe) willbe called back for a connection with the expert (Rob Berman) who chargesa customer $30 for a session that is up to 15 minutes for advicesprovided over the connection. In one embodiment, when the icon (415) isselected, a VoIP application program is used to call the expert (RobBerman) for a connection for instant messaging in text, voice and/orvideo. In one embodiment, when the icon (415) is selected, anapplication program is used to dial the phone number of the expert (RobBerman), or a phone number of the connection provider which istemporarily assigned to the advertisement of the expert (Rob Berman). Inone embodiment, a phone number of the connection provider (with orwithout extension) is assigned to the expert (Rob Berman) and displayedin the banner (411).

In one embodiment, the connection provider tracks the calls and/or theduration of the communications to bill the customer and compensate theexpert. In one embodiment, the connection provider tracks the callsthrough being in the path of the communication connection (or in thepath of the call for the communication connection). In one embodiment,the connection provider uses the VoIP client application program totrack the calls and/or duration.

In FIG. 4, the icon (417) indicates that the social distance between theuser (Joe) and the expert (Rob Berman) in the social network. Thus, thebanner (411) not only identifies the member who provided the answer, butalso provides an advertisement for the expert. In one embodiment, theexpert is charged an advertisement fee when a customer is connected tothe expert through the advertisement. The advertisement fee may be afixed, flat fee, or a fee based on a bid price of the advertiser, suchas a fixed bid or a maximum bid. Alternatively or in combination, theexpert may be charged a commission fee when the customer makes apurchase from the expert over the communication connection. Thecommission fee may be a fixed, flat fee, or a percentage of the customerspending. In one embodiment, the expert may charge the customer a fixedor flat fee for a communication session which is independent of theactual duration of the communication session (which may have apredetermined limit on the maximum duration, such as $30 for a sessionup to 30 minutes). Alternatively, the expert may charge the customer onan ongoing basis based on a rate (e.g., $2 per minute or $50 per hour).

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of providing advertisements via a socialnetwork according to one embodiment. In FIG. 5, a user (Lisa) is viewingthe profile of a member within a sub-network that is accessible to user.For example, the user can view the direct contacts of the user withinthe social network.

In FIG. 5, a profile of a member (Joe Smith) is displayed. The icon(501) indicates that the user (Lisa) has a direct connection with themember (Joe Smith). The icon (503) indicates that the member (Joe Smith)is also an expert whose services are being advertised by the system.

In one embodiment, the icon (503) includes an indication of currentavailability of the expert (Joe Smith) for real time communications.When the member is not currently available, the appearance of the icon(503) can be changed to indicate that the user may request anappointment with the expert (Joe Smith) for a future connection, orrequest the system to send a notification to the expert.

In FIG. 5, when the user (Lisa) selects the icon (503), a connectionprovider connects the user (Lisa) and the expert (Joe Smith). Theconnection provider also charges the user (Lisa) on behalf of the expert(Joe Smith).

In one embodiment, the user can view at least the public profile of anymember of the social network. For example, the social network can makethe public profile of its members available to the public. When themember has a listing, the public profile can also show the listing onbehalf of the member and/or the communication references to reach themember via a connection provider. The communication references can be atraditional telephone number with or without extension, a sessioninitiation protocol (SIP) uniform resource identifier (URI), a VoIP useridentifier, a member ID, etc.

In FIG. 5, targeted pay per call advertisements (505) can be presentedto the user based on the profile data of the user (Lisa) and/or theprofile data of the member (Joe Smith). When the advertisers of theadvertisements are members of the social network, information based onthe social network can be presented to show the trustworthiness of theadvertisers. Banners (507 and 509) show the recommendations made by themember (Joe Smith) and the connections to common friends of the user(Lisa) and the member (Joe Smith). A customer may judge thetrustworthiness of an advertiser via the recommendations of otherpersons made by the advertiser and the people associated with theadvertiser.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of presenting an advertiser via a socialnetwork according to one embodiment. In FIG. 6, a communicationreference, such as a call button (601), is presented with a briefsummary of the profile of the advertiser, which may be an expert,advisor, seller, entertainer, information provider, consultant, etc.Alternatively or in combination, a toll free telephone number or localtelephone number may be presented with the brief summary. In oneembodiment, the communication reference is assigned to the advertiser tobe published as the contact information of the advertiser. Theconnection provider is between the path of a communication connection,or a call for the communication connection, between a caller and theadvertiser to provide services such as filtering out callers who are notserious, blocking calls that are in the callable hours of theadvertiser, processing payments for the advertiser, etc.

In FIG. 6, the tab (603) can be selected to view the questions asked bythe advertiser and the answers provided by the advertiser, whichprovides an evidence of the competence of the advertiser as an expert incertain areas.

In FIG. 6, the tab (603) can be selected to view more detailed profiledata of the advertiser, which may include the current employer, jobtitle, field of business, technology, industry, education, credentials,recommendations, ratings, customer feedbacks, etc.

In FIG. 6, the banner (607) shows how the user (Lisa) is connected tothe advertiser (Jim Sample). For example, the user (Lisa) is connectedto the advertiser (Jim Sample) in the social network via one commonfriend (Barbara Job). Thus, the user (Lisa) may ask the common friend(Barbara Job) for information about the advertiser (Jim Sample). Forexample, the user (Lisa) may trust the advertiser (Jim Sample) based onthe direct connection between the advertiser (Jim Sample) and the friend(Barbara Job) of the user (Lisa).

In one embodiment, members of a social network may indicate the areas ofinterest for which they might receive advertisements. In one embodiment,the advertisers may reward the members for real communications overconnections provided by the connection providers. In one embodiment, theadvertisers may use the social distance and/or other information fromthe social network to selectively target the delivery of advertisementsand/or select the audiences for their advertisement pitches. Both theadvertisers and the customers can use the social network to judge thetrustworthiness of the other party.

In one embodiment, an advertiser can target pay per call advertisementsto members of a social network based on the accessible profile data ofthe members. The advertiser is charged an advertisement fee when themember calls the advertiser via the connection provider.

In one embodiment, the social network can be used to facilitate realtime communications between indirectly connected members. In oneembodiment, a member of the social network may be allowed to browse thenetwork to view profiles of other members who are within a thresholddistance to the member in the social network (e.g., within 3 degrees ofseparation). In one embodiment, a member of the social network may alsobe allowed to browse the network to view a limited portion of profiledata of other members who are more than the threshold distance to themember in the social network (e.g., a portion of the profile withoutnames of other members who are beyond 3 degrees of separation from themember). Further, the public profile of the members can be published foraccess by non-members in one embodiment.

In one embodiment, a member of the social network can view the contactinformation of direct friends who are directly connected to the memberin the social network (e.g., the access of contact information islimited to members within one degrees of separate). The member may usethe social network to explore indirectly connected members (e.g., afriend of a friend) and request introductions or invitations to connect.

In one embodiment, the social network provides communication referenceswhich can be used to request a connection provider to provide aconnection between two indirectly connected members for real timecommunications (e.g., telephone connections, instant messagingconnections for text, voice and/or video chat, etc.). The connectionprovider provides the connection without reveal one member's contactinformation to another. In one embodiment, the connection provider canfurther provide the connection in accordance with a number ofpreferences of the callee of the connection. For example, the button(601) can be provided in the profile page of Jim Sample in FIG. 6 toallow the member (Lisa) to request a telephone connection to Jim Samplethrough the connection provider. In one embodiment, the button (601) isnot specific for an advertisement; and the button (601) is designed tofacilitate the communications between members who are indirectlyconnected in the social network.

In one embodiment, a member can limit who may request the connectionbased on a social network preference setting. For example, one membermay allow the real time communication connections for members who arewithin two or three degrees of separation from the member in the socialnetwork. For example, one member may limit the real time communicationconnections to members who are connected to the member through aparticular set of friends.

In one embodiment, a member may set a price for receiving a call forreal time communication connections. For example, the member may specifya flat fee for accepting a call for a telephone conversation connectedby the connection provider via the social network, with or without alimit on the length of the communication session. For example, themember may specify a per minute fee for accepting a call for a telephoneconversation connected by the connection provider via the socialnetwork. In one embodiment, the member may set different prices based onone or more social network characteristics, such as the social distanceto the caller, being connected in the social network via a particularfriend of the member, etc. In one embodiment, the prices are specifiedprior to the request from the caller. In another embodiment, a price canbe specified by the callee after both the caller and callee areconnected to the connection provider but before the connection providerbridges the connections to connect the caller and the callee. In oneembodiment, the connection provider may require that the prices areabove a minimum price; and the system charges a percentage of the feescollected on behave of the callee as a commission fee. Alternatively,the communication references can be provided as a feature accessible tomembers who pay a subscription fee.

In one embodiment, a member can set a schedule to specify callable hoursduring which the member is willing to accept the calls for real timecommunication connections. The connection provider blocks requests forreal time communication connections outside the callable hours.

In one embodiment, the connection provider assigns a phone number and/ora call button to a callee. When the phone number is dialed, or the callbutton is selected, the caller is connected to the connection providerbefore the caller is further connected to the callee. To connect thecaller to the callee without revealing the contact information of thecallee, the connection provider makes a separate connection to thecallee and then bridges the connections to facilitate real timecommunications. In one embodiment, the connection provider also performsformat and/or language translation to bridge the connections. Forexample, the connection provider can translate the text input receivedfrom one member into voice output to the other member and translate thevoice input received from one member into text output to the othermember. For example, the connection provider can translate voice or textinput in one language received from one member into text and/or voice inanother language for another member.

In another embodiment, the connection provider provides a VoIP clientapplication to implement the preferences of the callee. For example,when a call button associated with a VoIP client application isselected, the VoIP client application is executed to initial a requestin accordance of the callable schedule of the callee, the price of thecallee, etc. In one embodiment, the VoIP client applications use peer topeer communications to facilitate the establishment of the communicationconnection.

In one embodiment, the communications references, such as a phonenumber, a SIP URI, a VoIP user identifier, a call button, etc., areassociated with the member of the social network for requesting acommunication connection with the member by someone who does not havedirect contact information of the member. When the profile data of themember is presented, or when the member is presented as part of thesocial network, the communication references can be presented also toallow the user to request a connection with the member for real timecommunications. In one embodiment, the caller and callee may alsoprovide indication through the connection for real time communicationsto make a direct connection in the social network between the caller andthe callee. For example, the callee and/or caller may press “#00” on thephone to request a direct connection in the social network.

In one embodiment, the communications references, such as a phonenumber, a SIP URI, a VoIP user identifier, a call button, etc., areassociated with listings of the members. The listings are advertised forthe members when appropriate. The listing may be a pay per calladvertisement for selling a product or service. The listing may be alisting for selling services over real time communications provided bythe connection provider.

In one embodiment, the communication reference is embedded in anadvertisement or a profile page to represent an address or identifier ofthe connection provider in a telecommunication system. When a call tothe reference is made via the telecommunication system for a real timecommunication session, the call is connected to the connection provider.The connections provider may associate different communicationreferences with different members, advertisers and/or advertisements sothat the member/advertiser can be identified via the communicationreference used to call the connection provider. After identifying thecontact information of the advertiser based on the communicationreference used to call the connection provider, the connection providercan further forward, bridge, conference or connect the call to themember/advertiser.

The connection provider can thus track the connections for real timecommunications with the advertiser, made via the communication referenceembedded in the advertisement that is presented in the social networkenvironment. The connections provided by the connection provider can beconsidered as communication leads provided to the advertiser via theadvertisement; and the advertiser can be charged based on the deliveryof leads to real time communications with customers.

In one embodiment, advertisers may specify bid prices for thecommunication leads received; and the presentation of the advertisementand the connection of calls can be prioritized based on the bid pricesof the advertisers. In one embodiment, the advertisers may specify therules or limits for the bid prices to allow the system to automaticallydetermine the actual bid prices for the advertisers based on the bids oftheir competitors.

Examples of calls for a session for real time communications include butnot limited to telephone calls made via a circuit switched network, apacket switched network, or a combination of circuit switched networksand packet switched networks, calls for a text-based chat sessions,calls for instant messaging sessions which may support communications intext, voice, and/or video, calls for an application sharing session suchas common whiteboarding, screen sharing, file sharing, calls forteleporting to a meeting location in the virtual world, etc.

In some embodiments, the connection provider can also provide a channelfor non-real-time communications between an advertiser and a customer,in addition to the real time communication connection, or as analternative to the real time communication connection. In oneembodiment, the connection provider can provide multiple concurrentconnections for communications in multiple types of media or formats.

In one embodiment, a real time communication between two personsincludes one person providing information and the other person receivinginformation substantially in the same time as the person providing theinformation, as if the two persons were in a face to face communication.Examples of communication media that support real time communicationsbetween two persons include telephone connections, instant messagingconnections, etc. Alternatively, a communication from one person may bestored on a communication system until the other person is ready toobtain it, such as an email communication.

FIG. 7 shows a method to establish connections for real timecommunications according to one embodiment. In FIG. 7, user A (121)provides a contact for real time communication, such as a telephonereference of the user A. The contact can be used to establish aconnection with user A (121) through a communication network. Forexample, the contact can be a telephone number of a landline,traditional analog telephone, a cellular phone number, a phone numberwith an extension, a Universal Resource Identifier (URI) such as aSession Initiation Protocol (SIP) URI, a user identifier of a VoIPapplication, a user identifier of an instant messaging system, etc.

The contact of the user A (121) is stored in the database (125); and areference is assigned to represent the contact. Instead of providing thecontact to customers, the reference representing the contact is providedthrough the media (127) to user B (131). Thus, when the user B (131)uses the reference to request a connection with the user A (121), theconnections resulted from the advertisement can be tracked to evaluatethe performance.

In one embodiment, advertisements can be distributed via a number ofmedia channels operated by a number of demand partners. The referencecan also be assigned to identify the demand partners and/or the mediachannels used to distribute the advertisements. In one embodiment, theinformation obtained from tracking the demand partners who areresponsible for the delivery of a communication lead is used tocompensate the demand partner for each delivered communication lead.Alternatively, the demand partners may be compensated according to theadvertisement presentations made for the advertiser; and trackedinformation can be used to determine the performance and/or the costeffectiveness of the media channels.

In one embodiment, the reference can be presented via a variety of mediachannels, such as a virtual reality environment, newspaper, magazine,telephone directory, web search results, VoIP user terminals,interactive maps, banners, directory assistance service, onlinemarketplace, mobile communication devices, radio, cable/satellitetelevision, interactive television, web television, voice portal, webportal, online auction site, blog, email, bulletin board, refrigeratemagnet, brochure, etc.

In FIG. 7, the user B (131) can use the reference obtained from media(127) to request the connection provider (123) to establish a connectionor facilitate a communication channel for real time communicationsbetween the user A (121) and the user B (131). The connection provideruses the database (125) to determine the contact of the user A (121) andthen make a connection between the user A (121) and user B (131) usingthe contact of the user A (121). Alternatively, the reference mayinclude an encoded/encrypted version of the contact of the user A (121)which can be decoded/decrypted without relying upon the database (125).

In response to the user B's request for a connection, the connectionprovider (123) may establish two separate connections to the user A(121) and the user B (131) and then bridge the two connections toconnect the user A (121) and user B (131). For example, the connectionprovider (123) may determine the reference from a connection establishedbetween the user B (131) and connection provider (123) and then furtherbridge the connection to the user A (121).

In one embodiment, the connection provider (123) may provide a separatereference to represent the user B (131) and allow the user A (121) tosubsequently callback to the user B (131) via the reference thatrepresents the user B (131), if the user A (121) is not currentlyavailable for real time communications. The connection provider (123)may schedule an appointment for the user A (121) and user B (131) for areal time communication session. The connection provider (123) may senda notification to the user A (121) to inform the user A (121) about therequest for a real time communication.

In one embodiment, the connection provider (123) tracks the connectionsmade via the reference for billing for the advertisement. For example,the connection provider (123) may charge the advertiser for eachcommunication lead deliver to the user A (121).

A communication lead may be limited to a distinct, separate customersuch that repeated calls from the same customer within a predefined timeperiod may not be counted as separate communication leads. In oneembodiment, the communication lead may also be limited by the durationof a communication session, such that a short session having a durationshorter than a predefined time period may not be counted as acommunication lead, and/or a long session having a duration longer thana predefined time period may be counted as more than one communicationlead.

In one embodiment, a number of communication leads may be bundled as apackage for a subscription fee, or a bid price. Further, the delivery ofcommunication leads may be bundled with an offer of a telecommunicationservice package. Alternatively, the advertiser may specify a bid pricethat is to be charged for each communication lead delivered, or a bidlimit (e.g., maximum bid) which is to be resolved into an actual bidbased on the bid prices of competitors in a category for a specificgeographic service area.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a user interface to manage availabilityfor receiving phone calls according to one embodiment. An advertiser mayspecify the day and time of availability for accepting the calls forreal time communications. Based on the availability, the system mayschedule the presentation of the advertisements/communication referencesmore effectively and block unwanted calls.

In one embodiment, the system can store multiple phone numbers of theseller. The system can intelligent route a call to the seller accordingto the preference of the seller. For example, in FIG. 8, theadvertiser/seller may choose a preferred phone number from a set ofphone numbers of the seller to receive incoming calls using the optiongroup (161) in the user interface (151). The seller may indicate whetherthe seller is currently available to take calls or is to be taken “offcall” (e.g., using the check box (159)).

In one embodiment, the system allows the seller to specify the scheduleto receive calls; and the schedule (153) is displayed to the seller in agraphical way to help the seller to manage calls. In FIG. 8, the userinterface (151) includes a link (163) which can be selected to display auser interface (not shown in FIG. 8) to manage the schedule (153).

In one embodiment, when the schedule or the check button (159) indicatesthat the advertiser/seller is currently not available to take calls forreal time communications, the system can decrease the priority of theadvertisement for this advertiser, or stop temporarily the presentationof advertisements for this advertiser. When there is a call intended forthe advertiser at a time when the advertiser is not taking calls (e.g.,according to the schedule), the system can block the call, or direct thecall into a voice mail for the advertiser, or arrange a call at analternative time, or obtain a callback number to allow the advertiser toinitiate a callback to the customer.

In FIG. 8, the user interface (151) also includes a summary of callactivities. Buttons (157 and 155) can be selected to show graphicalrepresentation of the call activities and further details of the callactivities.

As the phone calls pass through the system, a wide array of informationcan be collected and tracked, including day/date/time of calls, durationof calls, call status (answered, no answer, busy), inbound phonenumbers, etc. Such tracked information can be used in countingcommunication leads generated from advertisements. For example, whenmultiple calls are made from the same user to the same seller within aperiod of time (e.g., a day or a week), or in connection with the sameoffered or auctioned item, these multiple calls can be considered as onequalified call or a single lead.

In one embodiment, different types of communication references can bedynamically selected for advertisements to represent the contactinformation of the corresponding advertisers. A communication referenceused to represent the contact of an advertiser may be a traditionalphone number with or without an extension, a click-to-call reference, aSIP address for VoIP call, a click-to-reveal reference, etc. Thecommunication reference can be embedded into an advertisement to countthe communication leads generated from advertisements, to track thecontributions of demand partners who operate media channels to presentthe advertisements to customers, and/or to track other aspects ofadvertising, such as partners who bring the advertisers/sellers to thesystem and the keywords responsible for the selection of theadvertisement for presentation.

In one embodiment, the tracking mechanism used for a particular versionof a particular advertisement is selected from a number of availablemechanisms, based on one or more considerations such as the volume orfrequency of calls generated from the advertisement, the conversion rateof the advertisement (e.g., the ratio between a count of presentationsof the advertisement and a count of communication leads generated fromthe presentations), the price per communication lead that the advertiseris willing to pay for the advertisement according to a price bidspecified by the advertiser, a potential revenue for a particular partyin the advertising activity, a classification or category of theadvertisement (e.g., the category of service or product advertised inthe advertisement), a geographical area served by the advertisement, thedemand partner who is going to present the advertisement (e.g., thesuccess rate of the demand partner in reaching viable customers incomparison with other demand partners), etc.

FIG. 9 shows a diagram illustrating a method to select a type oftracking mechanism with a corresponding reference for embedding in anadvertisement according to one embodiment. In FIG. 9, multiple types oftracking mechanisms are used in the system. The tracking mechanism usedfor an advertisement or a version of the advertisement can bedynamically selected and changed. For example, different versions of anadvertisement can be generated for delivery by different demandpartners.

In FIG. 9, a pool (189) of different types of references is maintained,such as local phone numbers (171), 800-numbers (173), 888-numbers (175),877-numbers (177), 866-numbers (179). Some of the references can bedynamically generated and used, such as extensions (181), SIP addresses(183), click-to-assign references (185) and click-to-callback references(187). In one embodiment, one or more of the references are selected andused as the assigned reference (193) that is embedded in theadvertisement (191). In one embodiment, the assignment is based at leastpartially on factors related to the advertisement, such as call volume,conversion rate, revenue potential, category, geography, demand partner,etc.

In one embodiment, the reference of a particular type is selected andassigned to the advertisement when the advertisement is being requestedfor delivery. When the advertisement is subsequently requested, thepreviously assigned reference can be used. Alternatively, when theadvertisement is subsequently requested, a different reference of are-selected type can be selected and assigned to the advertisement,based on the considerations such as the call volume in a past timeperiod, conversion rate, price bid, etc. After the new reference isassigned to the advertisement, the previous reference can be assigned toa different advertisement.

In one embodiment, before the expiration of the previously assignedreference for an advertisement delivered by a demand partner, a newreference can be assigned to the advertisement for delivery by the samedemand partner. Thus, multiple references can be associated with a sameset of parameters in a time period. Further, since some of thereferences can be re-assigned to a different advertisement, onereference may be associated with multiple sets of parameters (e.g., fordifferent advertisements). In one embodiment, when a reference isassociated multiple sets of parameters, the parameter set that is mostrecently assigned to and associated with an advertisement has thehighest priority; and when the reference is used to request acommunication connection with an advertiser, the customer can beprompted to confirm the set of parameters (directly or indirectly)before the set of parameters are used to connect the customer to theadvertiser.

In one embodiment, a communication reference that is specific to aselected tracking mechanism is allocated or selected or generated for aparticular advertisement. The communication reference is embedded intothe advertisement to generate a particular version of the advertisement.

In one embodiment, the tracking mechanism is selected at a time when theparticular version of the advertisement is needed for presentation(e.g., when the version of the advertisement is to be delivered to amedia channel, a demand partner, or to a web browser of a customer). Thecorresponding communication reference is allocated or selected orgenerated when the tracking mechanism is selected.

In one embodiment, the selected tracking mechanism can be dynamicallychanged at a time when the particular version of the advertisement isneeded for presentation (e.g., when the version of the advertisement isto be delivered to a demand partner, or to a web browser of a customer).For example, the tracking mechanism used in an advertisement that is tobe presented via a particular demand partner can be upgraded ordowngraded based on the statistical data collected from the pastactivities related to the advertisement.

In one embodiment, a version of an advertisement can have multipleassigned references corresponding to different types of trackingmechanisms. For example, a version of an advertisement may include a SIPaddress, a reference to arrange a callback and a reference to request anassigned phone number.

The SIP address may be presented in a click-to-call format via a VoIPapplication. When the customer has a VoIP application readily available,the customer may choose to make the phone call via the SIP addresswithout requesting for a traditional telephone number.

The reference to arrange a callback can be implemented as a link or abutton labeled as “Request a phone connection through calling me back”.In one embodiment, a form to take the callback number is presented withthe link or button. Alternatively, when the link or the button isselected, a further interface (e.g., a web page, a dialog box, etc.) canbe displayed to guide the customer through the process of connecting thecustomer to the advertiser through calling back the customer.

The reference to request an assigned phone number can be implemented asa link or a button labeled as “Show me a phone number”, which whenselected, causes a phone number to be assigned to the version of theadvertisement. After a phone number is assigned to the version of theadvertisement, the advertisement can be subsequently displayed with theassigned phone number without showing the reference to request anassigned phone number.

Alternatively, when the “Show me a phone number” link or button isselected, the complete phone number of the advertiser can be shown toallow the customer to call the advertiser directly. In such animplementation, the number of times that the advertiser's phone numberis clicked to reveal can be used as a performance indicator, based onwhich the advertisement is charged for.

In one embodiment, after a period of time of serving the advertisement,statistical data related to consumer responses to the advertisement canbe collected and used to adjust the tracking mechanisms for theadvertisement. For example, if it is determined that the majority of thephone calls in response to the advertisement is via the SIP address,other tracking mechanisms may be de-allocated from the advertisement, orre-allocated for a different advertisement. Alternatively, the referencemay be phased out from the advertisement while the reference isallocated to a different advertisement.

For instance, if an advertisement has a high call volume (e.g., receivesmany calls), it may be upgraded for a more expensive method of tracking.An advertisement with an extension may be upgraded to a local phonenumber without an extension, or even a vanity toll-free number, if theperformance of the advertisement is above a threshold (e.g., when itsconversion rate or call volume is high). Conversely, advertisements thatperform poorly may be downgraded in tracking methods used. For example,an advertisement tracked by a toll-free number without an extension maybe downgraded to have a number with an extension, a click-to-callconnection mechanism.

The tracking mechanism of an advertisement can be determined not only bythe performance of an advertisement, but also by the quality of thedemand partner or the quality of the customer viewing the advertisement.For example, one advertisement may use an expensive tracking mechanismon one demand partner but may be assigned a different, inexpensivetracking mechanism on a second demand partner who tends to have lowerquality customers (e.g., customers who response less frequently toadvertisements). The quality of a demand partner may be reflected uponon the difference in the conversion rate of a same advertisementpresented via different demand partners, in the numbers of the potentialcustomers the demand partners can reach, the quality of the customers ofthe demand partners, etc. In another embodiment, the tracking mechanismis directly determined by the quality of the customer himself/herself.For instance, information can be collected about the customerinteracting with the advertisements; if the customer is a frequentbuyer, an expensive tracking mechanism can be used for the customer. Thequality of a customer may also reflected upon the preferences of thecustomer, the spending habit of the customer, the response rate of thecustomer to advertisements, the need of the customer, etc. In this case,different customers of different buying tendencies may see theadvertisement using different tracking mechanisms at the same demandpartners.

In one embodiment, the likelihood of an advertisement being called isestimated based on the type of media channels used to present theadvertisement, the demand partner responsible to deliver theadvertisement, and/or the customer who views the advertisement. Anycharacteristics in advertising that have an impact on the likelihood ofan advertisement being called and thus the expected revenue/profitgenerated from the presentation of the advertisement can be used inselecting a tracking mechanism for the particular instance of theadvertisement.

In one example, if it is determined that the number of communicationleads generated from the assigned phone number is lower than athreshold, the assigned phone number may be reallocated to anotheradvertisement. If the number of communication leads generated from theadvertisement is higher than a threshold, the tracking mechanism usedfor the advertisement may be promoted to a phone number with a short orvanity extension, a phone number without an extension, a vanity phonenumber, a toll free phone number, a vanity toll free number, a localphone number, or a vanity local phone number. If the number ofcommunication leads generated from the advertisement is lower than athreshold, the tracking mechanism may be downgraded, freeing up trackingresources for other advertisements.

In one example, when advertisements are provided to a demand partnerthat has a lower success rate in reaching viable customers than otherdemand partners, this demand partner may be represented using a longextension, leaving short extensions for other demand partners.Alternatively, the advertisements for presentation by the demand partnermay be tracked using references for callback or SIP addresses.

In one example, the system may promote the advertisement activities inone geographic area; and the advertisements served in that geographicarea receive upgrades in tracking mechanism.

In one example, the advertisements in certain categories of products andservices use upgraded tracking mechanisms.

In one embodiment, the advertisements with a pay per communication leadprice bid higher than a threshold receives an upgrade in trackingmechanism.

In one embodiment, the system determines weighting factors in varioustypes of communication references (e.g., in terms of cost and benefit inpromoting the advertisement), the success rate of the advertisement invarious communication channel/demand partner, and the price bids of theadvertisers. Based on the collected information, the system can selecttracking mechanisms to optimize the potential revenue that can begenerated from advertising. In one embodiment, the potential revenueincludes the advertisement revenue and/or other revenue that can begenerated from the advertisement. For example, when the system takes acommission from the transaction resulted from the advertisement, thepotential revenue can include the expected commission from thepresentation of the advertisement; and in such a case the system mayfurther use the statistical data related to the successful rate of acall converting into a transaction, an average value of a transaction,the possibility of a repeated call, the average value of a repeatedcall, etc., in the determination of the potential revenue. In oneembodiment, advertisements may qualify for better tracking mechanismswhen their pay-per-call bid price reaches a certain value. Similarly,advertisements may qualify for better tracking mechanisms when theiroverall value reaches a certain threshold. Their overall value can be afunction of their bid price, ordinal position, conversion rate, demandsource, customer quality, etc.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of telephone call tracking mechanismswhich can be selected according to one embodiment.

In FIG. 10, a phone number (207) without an extension is assigned forthe generation a particular version (213) of an advertisement (209). Inthe database (201), the assigned phone number (207) is associated withthe media channel (203) and the advertiser's phone number (205) (and/orother parameters to be tracked). Thus, the parameters to be tracked canbe identified based at least partially on the assigned phone number(207). The particular version (213) of the advertisement (209) that hasthe assigned phone number (207) is provided to the customer (217) viathe media channel (215). The advertisement may instruct or suggest thecustomer to call the assigned phone number (207) to reach theadvertiser. In response to the advertisement, the customer may call theassigned phone number (207). When the connection provider (221) iscalled at the assigned phone number via a telephone carrier, theconnection provider (221) can identify the assigned phone number (e.g.,via a Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS)) and determine theadvertiser's phone number (205) based at least partially on the assignedphone number (207). Further, using the assigned phone number, it canalso be determined that the phone call from the customer is a responseto an advertisement that is delivered via the media channel (215) basedon the association between the assigned phone number (207) and the mediachannel (203) in the database (201).

In one embodiment, after determining the advertiser's phone number fromthe assigned phone number that is dialed by the customer (217), theconnection provider (221) makes a separate call to the advertiser (225)via a telephone carrier. When both the customer (217) and the advertiser(225) are on the line with the connection provider (221), the connectionprovider (221) can bridge or conference the calls to connect thecustomer (217) and the advertiser (225). Alternatively, the connectionprovider (221) may forward the calls from the customer (217) to theadvertiser (225) after determining the advertiser's phone number.

In one embodiment, the assigned phone number can be a phone number thatis local to the area to be served by the advertisement. Alternatively,the assigned phone number can be a toll free phone number, such as an800- (888-, 877, or 866-) number. In one embodiment, the assigned phonenumber is a vanity number that spells one or more words on a dial pad ona phone, such as 1-800-PLUMBER for the advertisement of a plumber.Alternatively, the assigned phone number can be a plain phone number.

It is recognized that a local phone number is easy to dial manually, avanity number is easy to remember, and an 800-number is easier toremember than other toll free numbers. Thus, there are different valuesin advertising in the different types of assigned phone numbers.

Since maintaining different phone numbers may increase the trackingcost, another type of tracking mechanism uses different extensions todifferentiate tracked parameters. For example, different root phonenumbers can be used to represent different media channels; and differentextensions can be used to represent different advertisers. In anotherexample, different root phone numbers are used to represent differentadvertisers; and different extensions are used to represent differentmedia channels. In another example, the entire assigned phone number,including the root phone number and the extension, is used as a key tolook up the media channel and the advertiser's phone number. In afurther example, the root phone numbers are not used to differentiatetracked parameters; and the tracked parameters are represented by theextensions, which may be implemented as keys to look up the parametersor as encoded/encrypted version of the parameters.

In one embodiment, after the customer dials the root number, thecustomer is connected to an IVR system or a human operator of theconnection provider/tracker. After the customer provides the extensionto the IVR system or the human operator, the tracked parameters, such asthe media channel and/or the advertiser's phone number, can bedetermined.

In one embodiment, the IVR system or the human operator can prompt thecustomer for the extension that is provided in the advertisement. Whenthe dialed root number is sufficient to identify information about themedia channel, the IVR system or the human operator may customize theprompt to include the information of the media channel and ask thecustomer to further provide the extension to reach the desiredadvertiser. When the dialed root number is sufficient to identifyinformation about the advertiser, the IVR system or the human operatormay customize the prompt to include the information of the advertiserand ask the customer to further provide the extension to reach thedesired advertiser.

The extension can be a plain extension or a vanity extension that spellsone or more words on a dial pad on a phone, such as extension PLUMBERfor the advertisement of a plumber. In one embodiment, extensions usedin the system can have different lengths. A shorter extension is easy todial; and a vanity extension is easy to remember. In one embodiment, theextension includes an encoded/encrypted version of the associatedparameter to allow an authorized data system to decode/decrypt at leastsome of the parameters without having to query the database. Thus,different types of extensions can have different values in advertising.

The tracking methods described can have different costs. A toll-freenumber with many extensions, for instance, is much cheaper than manyvanity toll-free numbers. Therefore, the system uses the more expensivemethods when it's worthwhile to do so. For instance, if an advertisementreceives many calls, it may be selected for a more expensive method oftracking. An advertisement with an extension may in the future beupgraded to a local phone number without an extension, or even a vanitytoll-free number. Similarly, an advertisement may qualify for a moreexpensive method of tracking if its conversion rate is high (e.g., if ithas a high ratio of the number of calls it receives to the number oftimes it is displayed). Conversely, advertisements that perform poorlymay be downgraded in tracking methods used. For example, anadvertisement tracked by a toll-free number may be downgraded to have aless expensive, click-to-call connection mechanism.

In one embodiment, the connection provider calls the customer instead ofproviding a phone number to receive a phone call from the customer. Forexample, the reference assigned to represent the contact of theadvertiser may not be used to make a call via a traditional telephonecarrier. The reference can be submitted to the connection provider via adata communication, such as an email, an SMS message, a web request, orother types of data communication. The reference can be used as a key inthe database to look up the associated parameters, such as the mediachannel and the advertiser's phone number. In one embodiment, thereference is an encoded/encrypted version of the associated parameters,such that an authorized data system can decode/decrypt the informationwithout having to look up from the database. After the reference isprovided to the connection provider with the request for a connection,the connection provider can callback to the customer to establish theconnection between the customer and the advertiser. The request mayinclude a callback phone number of the customer. Alternatively, acustomer may be prompted to provide the callback phone number inresponse to the request. The connection provider can connect thecustomer and the advertiser by calling the customer and the advertiserseparately and bridge/conferences the calls, or by forwarding one call(e.g., the call to the customer) to another (e.g., to the advertiser).

In one embodiment, a telephone number assigned to a version of anadvertisement includes a SIP address for the initiation of a VoIP-basedtelephone call. The SIP address can be used for a manually dialed callon a SIP-enabled phone, or be used in a click to call format. In oneembodiment, the SIP address includes an encoded/encrypted version of thecontact of the advertiser such that the connection provider candecode/decrypt the contact of the advertiser from the SIP addresswithout having to look up from database.

In one embodiment, the allocation of a telephone number to anadvertisement is deferred to a stage when a customer is interested inthe advertisement and ready to make a phone call. A reference embeddedin the advertisement can be used to specifically request for thetelephone number that is assigned to the advertiser by the connectionprovider. The request can be sent as a web request in response to aclick on a link, or as an email, an SMS message, or an instant message.The assigned telephone number may be a toll free phone number withoutextension, a local phone number with an extension, a SIP URL, etc.Alternatively, the reference can be used to request the actual phonenumber of the advertiser.

FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a system to make and track phone connectionsaccording to one embodiment. In FIG. 11, a database (251) may containthe phone numbers of target phone A (261), target phone B (263), . . . ,target phone X (269), etc. Typically, the target phones belong to theinstitutions, businesses, individuals, etc, which seek for publicitythrough various media channels, such as media channel A (231) (e.g., webserver), media channel B (232) (e.g., WAP server), media channel C (233)(e.g., short messaging service center), media channel D (234) (e.g.,custom server), media channel E (237) (e.g., cable television), mediachannel E (238) (e.g., news press), media channel G (239) (e.g., radiostation), and others such as virtual reality, directory assistanceservice, interactive maps, etc.

In one embodiment, the phone numbers of the target phones are notdirectly publicized over the media channels. Instead, encoded targetphone numbers (253) are used. Using the encoded target phone numbers(253), a user cannot reach target phones directly. The encoded targetphone numbers (253) allow the association of additional information withthe target phone numbers, such as the media channels used, specialpromotions, etc.

The encoded target phone numbers are delivered with content information(e.g., web page, WAP page, short message, television programs, newsarticles, virtual reality, etc.) to user devices, such as user device A(241) (e.g., cellular phone), user device B (242) (e.g., personaldigital assistant (PDA)), user device C (243) (e.g., computer), userdevice D (246) (e.g., receiver), user device E (248) (e.g., newspaper).

In one embodiment, a user device can include a USB phone, a Bluetoothwireless phone, or one or more speakers or headphones with one ormicrophones for the implementation of a software based phone(softphone).

In one embodiment, the user devices/phones support one or more real timecommunication capabilities, such as VoIP using Session InitiationProtocol (SIP) which may support video and instant-messagingapplications, IP phone, regular phone over VoIP service, Bluetoothwireless phone, USB phone, software based phone, and other forms of IPtelephony. In one embodiment, the user devices/phones support thedisplay of virtual reality.

In one embodiment, the user device can include a television set toreceive the advertisement. Further, the television set may have thecapability to accept user input so that the television content may bechanged according to the user input (e.g., interactive television, webtelevision, internet television, etc.), or be coupled with a set top boxwhich has such capability. The user input may be provided to the contentprovider through the same communication channel in which the televisioncontent/programs are delivered (e.g., a cable system of a cabletelevision system), or a separate channel (e.g., a phone line, anInternet connection, etc.). The user input may include a request to makea connection to an advertiser featured in an advertisement presented ina television program, such as a request for a telephonic connection tothe advertiser.

In one embodiment, the user devices are mobile devices, such as PDA,cellular phone, etc. The user devices obtain content information,including advertisements, through wireless communication connections,such as cellular communication links, wireless access points forwireless local area network, etc.

In one embodiment, a user device (e.g., a cellular phone, a computer, aPDA) can receive content information from multiple types of mediachannels (e.g., a web server, a WAP server, an SMSC, CHTML, etc.).

In one embodiment, a user device is capable to dial a phone call (e.g.,automatically according to the encoded phone number embedded in thecontent information when a user selects the number). Alternatively, auser may manually dial a phone call using a separate phone, such as userphone S (247) or user phone T (249).

In one embodiment, dialing at least a portion of an encoded target phonenumber connects the phone call to a connection server (255) first.According to the encoded target phone number dialed, the connectionserver (255) determines the corresponding target phone number using thedatabase (251) and connects the phone call to the corresponding targetphone (e.g., one of target phones 261-269) through the communicationnetwork (257).

Note the communication network (257) may be circuit switched, packetswitched, or partially circuit switched and partially packet switched.For example, the telephone network may partially use the Internet tocarry the phone call (e.g., through VoIP). For example, the connectionbetween the user phone/device and the connection server (255) may becarried using VoIP; and the connection between the connection server(255) may be carried using a land-line based, circuit switched telephonenetwork.

In one embodiment, the information associated with the encoded targetphone number, such as the media channel used to provide the encodedtarget phone number to the users, is also decoded/retrieved using thedatabase (251). Thus, the information associated with the encoded targetphone number can be tracked/stored.

In one embodiment, the connection server (255) also determines the phonenumber of the user through Automatic Number Identification (ANI). ANI isa phone system feature that provides the billing phone number of theperson making the phone call.

The information about the caller, target phone number, the media channelused for delivering the contact information to the user can be used tobill the caller and/or the target phone number, and providecredit/compensation for the corresponding media channel.

For example, the advertisements for target phone numbers can be paid foron a pay per call basis. Monitoring and tracking the calls can be usedfor billing the advertisers. Alternatively, the users may be seeking thecontact information on a pay per call basis. Monitoring and tracking thecalls can be used for billing the users.

In one embodiment, the additional information associated with theencoded target phone number is used to provide credit/compensation tothe operators of the corresponding media channels that are responsiblefor leading the users to the phone calls to the target phones. Thesystem can further track the time and duration of the phone calls andother information, such as conditional promotions, electronic coupons,etc.

The information about the media channels that are responsible forleading the users to the phone calls to the target phones can also beuseful for the advertisers. The advertisers may wish to know which mediachannel is more effective in reaching users. For example, using thestatistic information about the media channels which successfully bringin phone calls, the advertisers may fine tune advertisement strategies.Further, different media channels may charge differently for theadvertisements; and the advertisers may bid differently on differentmedia channels for their advertisements.

In one embodiment, an encoded target phone number has the same number ofdigits as a standard phone number (e.g., a typical telephone numberassigned by a telephone company). Thus, dialing the encoded target phonenumber is as easy as dialing the target phone number; and dialing thetarget phone number reaches the connection server (255). In such anarrangement, a large number of encoded phone numbers are generallyrequired to differentiate the different target phones and differentmedia channels.

In one embodiment, an encoded target phone number has more digits than astandard phone number. A first portion of the encoded target phonenumber has the same number of digits as a standard phone number to reachthe connection server (255) through the communication network (257); anda second portion of the encoded target phone number is to be decoded bythe connection server (255). For example, the Dual Tone Multi-Frequency(DTMF) decoder can be installed in the connection server (255) to detectthe second portion of the encoded target phone number dialed at the userphone. The detected phone number can then be used to recover the targetphone number. In one embodiment, a human operator or an interactivevoice response (IVR) system can be used to receive the second portion ofthe encoded target phone number for decoding.

When an encoded target phone number has more digits than a standardphone number, the additional digits can be implemented as a telephoneextension, or as input to an IVR system. In one embodiment, an encodedtarget phone number includes a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) addressfor the initiation of a VoIP call to the system.

In one embodiment, a single telephone number is used to reach theconnection server (255) for different target phone numbers; and theportion of the encoded target phone number that is used to reach theconnection server (255) is not used in determining the informationassociated with the encoded target phone number.

Alternatively, multiple telephone numbers can be used to reach theconnection server (255); and the entire encoded target phone number canbe used to determine the information associated with the encoded targetphone number.

In one embodiment, the encoded target phone numbers can have differentnumbers of digits. The advertisers may be arranged to bid for shorterencoded target phone numbers.

In one embodiment, the encoded target phone numbers are assigned onlywhen needed for use in a media channel. For example, when a query isreceived at the server of the system, the system assigns phone numbersfor the advertisements that satisfy the query.

In one embodiment, a look-up table approach is used to encode theinformation. For example, the database (251) keeps track of theinformation about the media channel and the target phone number (andother information, if any) for the encoded target phone number so thatthe encoded target phone number can be used as a key to retrieve thecorresponding information. Thus, it is not necessary to have apredetermined structure to encode the information about the mediachannels and the target phone number.

Alternatively, algorithms can be used to generate and encode targetphone number and associated information. For example, a predeterminedalgorithm may be used to encode different information in the targetphone number. For example, the target phone number may include a numberof fields separated by “*” or “#”. Each of the fields can be decodedseparately (e.g., from a separate look up table or a mapping algorithm)to determine the target phone number, identity of the media channel,etc.

For example, a set of parameters can be mapped from a string ofcharacters to a string of numerical digits as a part of the encodedtarget phone number; and the string of numbers can be mapped back intothe string of characters at the connection server (255). When such amapping scheme is used, a look up table is not necessary. For example,an encoded target phone number may include a first portion that is thephone number of the connection server (255), a second portion that isthe target phone number appended with a number mapped from an identifierof the media channel. To prevent the user from dialing the target phonenumber directly, an encryption/scrambling scheme can be used to encodethe second portion, which is decoded at the connection server (255).

In one embodiment, the connection server (255) determines the targetphone number from the encoded target phone number dialed by the user andthen dials the target phone number for the user and joins/bridges thephone calls so that the user can talk to the target phone.

In one embodiment, users dial the encoded target phone numbers manually.A user can dial the encoded target phone number regardless of the userdevice used and the media channel used.

Alternatively, in one embodiment, user devices can automatically dialthe encoded target phone numbers. For example, a cellular phone, acomputer or a PDA can dial a phone number using a Dual ToneMulti-Frequency (DTMF) generator. In one embodiment, the encoded targetphone numbers are presented in the content information in a format suchthat when the user selects the phone number the user device (e.g., acellular phone or a computer) dials the encoded target phone number forthe user. The user selection may be in the form of a keyboard/keypadinput, a touch pad input, a track ball input, a mouse input, a voicecommand, etc.

In one embodiment, the user device initiates the phone call through aVoIP system when the user selects the encoded target phone number.

In one embodiment, the user device dials the phone number for the userwithout the user manually pressing the sequence of the encoded targetphone numbers. This greatly simplifies the process of make the phonecall. Since a user device can dial a long sequence of number easily, alarge number of digits can be used to encode the information withoutpresenting any difficulties for the users.

In one embodiment, the encoded target phone numbers are formatted sothat the user device dials a first portion of the encoded target phonenumbers to access the connection server (255), pauses for a short periodof time for the connection server (255) to prepare for receiving thesecond portion of the encoded target phone numbers, and then dials thesecond portion of the encoded target phone numbers. Thus, the userdevice provides a user-friendly way of dialing the encoded target phonenumbers; and, making the phone call can be as easy as making a “click”to access a web page.

In FIG. 11, the user device initiates the phone call. Alternatively, aconnection server may be used to initiate phone calls both to the userdevice (or a separate user phone) and the target phone and thenjoin/bridge the phone calls to connect the user to the target phone. Forexample, when the user selects the encoded target phone number, theselection of the target phone number is transmitted to the connectionserver with the user phone number.

The user phone number can be automatically determined through ANI, orthrough a user preference setting, or through an entry submitted withthe selection of the encoded target phone number.

In one embodiment, the selection of the encoded target phone number istransmitted to the corresponding media channel, which forwards therequest for making the phone call to a server (e.g., a web server)connected to the connection server. Alternatively, the contentinformation can be formatted so that the selection is sent directly tothe connection server.

When the connection server starts the phone calls, the encoded targetphone number can also include alphabetic characters (and/or othercharacters). The connection server can decode the encoded target phonenumber to recover/retrieve the target phone number and other associatedinformation, such as the identity of the media channel that iscreditable for providing the encoded target phone number to user.

In one embodiment, an advertisement is presented to end users around theglobe without geographical area limitations. For example, an advertisermay provide services and/or products to customers around the globe. Theadvertisement may be delivered to the worldwide users of the Internet.

In one embodiment, the intended audience of an advertisement is thepopulation in a particular geographical area or people interested in aparticular geographical area. For example, an advertiser may limit itsservice area within a geographical area, where the advertiser canprovide services and/or products to the customers more effectively. Forexample, a business may better serve the customers within a convenientwalking/driving distance to the site of the business. A business maylimit the service area within a city, a county, a state, a country, orother types of regional areas. Further, a large business entity havingoffices around the world may want to attract customers in differentgeographical regions to different offices for better services.

In one embodiment, a target geographic area is specified for publicizinga phone number which can be used to reach an advertiser. The targetgeographic area information can be used to effectively reach potentialcustomers and connect the customers to the corresponding phones of theadvertisers.

For example, in one embodiment, the advertiser can specify a geographicservice area corresponding to a phone number. The service area may bespecified in terms of radius, city, region, state or national boundary,etc. The service area can be used to limit the delivery of theadvertisement to customers seeking information in the correspondinggeographic area. The service area can be used to stream information intoa mobile device when the mobile device enters the service area, with orwithout explicit request from the user of the mobile device. The servicearea information can also be used to route the phone to thecorresponding one of the offices of the advertiser, based on thelocation of the caller, if the advertiser has more than one office.

In one embodiment, an advertisement presented in a media channel is fora single advertiser. The end user selects an advertiser according to theadvertisements presented on behalf of individual advertisers; and theconnection server connects the end user and the selected advertiseraccording to the encoded target phone number individually publicized inthe advertisement for the advertiser. When the user views the onlineadvertisements, the selection of the advertiser is based on the onlineinformation.

In one embodiment, an advertisement is presented in a media channel fora group of advertisers, such as a group of mortgage brokers. Theadvertisement contains an encoded target phone number which is reachableto the group of mortgage brokers. When the encoded target phone numberis selected or used, the selection of a particular advertiser isperformed at the connection server.

For example, a toll-free number is published to advertise mortgagebrokers in a particular geographic area. When a consumer dials thetoll-free number, the call is routed to the highest bidding mortgagebroker who is available in that market.

The connection server may select the target advertiser according to thebidding of the advertisers for the advertisement. The advertiser whoplaces the highest bid is the winner for the call. Alternatively, or incombination, other types of selection criteria can also be used. Forexample, the user may be interested in advertisers in a particulargeographical region; and the geographical area of interest to the callercan be determined and used in selecting the target advertiser. Further,the user may be interested in a connection without excessive waitingtime. The status of the availability of the advertisers to answer thecall can be used in ranking the candidates for routing the call.

In general, an indicator used to rank the candidates may be a functionof a number of parameters, such as the bid for the advertisement, theprojected waiting time, an indicator showing a degree of matching to oneor more user requirements (e.g., geographic area, service type, etc.),advertisement budget, and others.

In one embodiment, a connection provider uses a connection serverconfigured on a packet switched network to provide telephone connectionsbetween callers (e.g., customers) and callees (e.g., advertisers), asillustrated in FIG. 12. In FIG. 12, the connection server (277) receivesand/or places telephone calls via the telecommunication carrier (275)over the packet switched network (279). The telecommunication carrier(275) further routes the telephone communications towards the caller(271) and the callee (273).

Since the telecommunication carrier (275) can route a call from a packetswitched network to a variety of destinations (e.g., a traditionalanalog telephone set, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a WiFi phone, aBluetooth phone, a softphone running on a computer, etc.), theconnection sever (277) can use one type of communication connection withthe telephone carrier (275) to facilitate the communication connectionswith variety of devices used by the customers (e.g., callers andcallees). Thus, the implementation of the connection server (277) can besimplified. In one embodiment, the connection server (277) can alsoplace and/or receive direct VoIP calls to/from the caller (or callee).

For example, to make a voice connection in response to a click-to-callrequest, the connection server can place separate VoIP calls, via thetelecommunication carrier (275), to the caller (271) (e.g., therequester of the click-to-call) and the callee (273) (e.g., thedestination of the click-to-call request).

If the caller (271) (or the callee 273) is on a public switchedtelephone network (PSTN), the telecommunication carrier (275) bridgesthe packet switched the network and the public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN). The telecommunication carrier (275) routes the call fromthe packet switched network (279) to the caller (271) (or the callee273) on the circuit switched network. Thus, the caller (271) (or thecallee 273) can use a telephone set to receive the call via a Plain OldTelephone Service (POTS). The connection server (277) joins the separatecalls that are placed via the packet switched network (279) to connectthe callee (273) and the caller (271).

In one embodiment, call signaling and media content may use differentnetwork paths. While call signaling is arranged to go through the packetswitched network (279) and the connection server (277), the media streamdoes not have to go through the connection server (277). For example,when the calls are joined, the media content may be redirected to flowover the communication carrier (275) without going through the packetswitched network (279) to the connection server (277) for improvedperformance and efficiency. The connection server (277) can release thecontrol over the media stream to allow the media stream to flow throughthe shortest path, without going through the connection server, whilemaintaining control to the connection for the call by staying on thepath for call signaling.

In another example, when the caller (271) initiates a call over a PSTNto the connection server (277), the telecommunication carrier (275)converts the call for the packet switched network (279) for theconnection server (277).

In one embodiment, virtual softphones on the telecommunication carrier(275) are assigned to the caller (271) and the callee (273) forinterfacing with the connection server (277) over the packet switchednetwork (279). The virtual softphones encapsulates the devices andnetworks used by the caller (271) and callee (273) to access theconnection server (277); and the telecommunication carrier (275) shieldsthe connection server (277) from the implementation details of the userdevices and networks used by the caller (271) and the callee (273). Theconnection server (277) calls (or receives calls from) and connects thevirtual softphones on the telecommunication carrier (275) to connect thecaller (271) and the callee (273).

In FIG. 12, the telephone connection between the telecommunicationcarrier (275) and the connection server (277) is facilitated via apacket switched network (279). Thus, the connection server (277) canoperate efficiently in a digital domain. The connection server (277)interfaces with the telecommunication carrier (275) using one type ofInternet Telephony systems (e.g., SIP-based Internet telephony).

Alternatively, a connection server may include some or all of thefunctionality of the telecommunication carrier (275). For example, theconnection server may be configured to bridge a packet switched networkand a circuit switched network. The connection server may supportmultiple, different types of Internet Telephony systems.

In one embodiment, the connection server (277) and the telecommunicationcarrier (275) are operated by different, separate entities.Alternatively, the connection server (277) and the telecommunicationcarrier (275) may be operated by the same entity. In another embodiment,the telecommunication carrier (275) includes a set of facilitiesoperated by a number of separate entities.

In one embodiment, the caller (271) and/or the callee (273) may alsoplace/receive calls via a packet switched network. The telecommunicationcarrier (275) may route the calls between the caller (271) and thecallee (273) without using a PSTN. In one embodiment, caller (271)and/or the callee (273) may place calls to or receive calls from theconnection server (277) via Internet.

FIG. 13 shows a connection server according to one embodiment. In FIG.13, the connection server (355) is configured to place and/or receiveVoIP calls using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). A session bordercontroller (351) is used to interface with the packet switched network(353) and control the types of network traffic related to VoIP callsthat might go into the connection server (355).

In one embodiment, the session border controller (351) is configured tocontrol the signaling and media stream during the setting up, conductingand tearing down of VoIP calls to or from the connection server (355).In some embodiments, the session border controller (351) may pick up thecall that comes to the session border controller (351), places aseparate call from the session border controller (351), and joins thereceived call and the placed call to control both the signaling andmedia stream. In some embodiments, the session border controller (351)may perform signaling/encoding translation to allow the connectionserver (355) to process the VoIP calls in one standard, while receivingVoIP calls in a variety of standards (e.g., SIP, H.323, etc.). In oneembodiment, the session border controller (351) is configured to performone or more firewall functionalities, such as denial of serviceprotection, call filtering, bandwidth management, etc.

In one embodiment, the session border controller (351) is configured toperform media releasing operation. When the session border controller(351) determines that the source and destination of a media stream is onthe same side of the session border controller (351) (e.g., both thesource and the destination of the media stream is outside the connectionserver 355), the session border controller (351) can release thehairpinning of the media stream and allow the media stream to flowwithout going through the session border controller (351).

In FIG. 13, a set of SIP servers (e.g., 361, 363, . . . , 369) arenetworked to the session border controller (351) to receive messages forincoming calls and to initiate outgoing calls. The session bordercontroller (351) is configured to evenly distribute the calls forprocessing by the SIP servers.

For example, when an incoming message for the initiation of a call isreceived (e.g., a SIP INVITE message from the telecommunication carrier275), the session border controller (351) may route it to a SIP server(e.g., 361) for processing. The INVITE message includes the phone numberdialed by the caller and the contact information about the caller (e.g.,the phone number of the caller 271 and/or the identity of the virtualSIP phone at the telecommunication carrier 275).

The SIP server may determine whether the phone number dialed by thecaller (273) is sufficient to determine the phone number of the callee(e.g., 273). If the phone number of the callee (e.g., 273) can bedetermined from the phone number dialed by the caller (273) (e.g., viadecoding the phone number dialed by the callee, or looking up the phonenumber of the callee from a table using the phone number dialed by thecaller as a key), the SIP server can place a separate SIP call to thecallee via the packet switched network (353) and then connect the callerand the callee. Alternatively, the SIP server can further route the SIPINVITE message (e.g., to the telecommunication carrier (275) to directthe call to the callee. For example, the SIP server may modify theINVITE message by replacing the destination with the determined phonenumber of the callee. Further, the SIP server can modify the INVITEmessage by removing the phone number of the caller (or replacing thephone number of the caller with a phone number of the connectionserver). In one embodiment, the modified INVITE message identifies thevirtual softphone corresponding to the caller on the telecommunicationcarrier as the SIP phone initiated the call; thus, the virtual softphonecorresponding to the callee on the telecommunication carrier canestablish media connection with the virtual softphone corresponding tothe caller on the telecommunication carrier directly. Alternatively, themodified INVITE message may identify a media server (371) (or a virtualsoftphone on SIP server) as the initiator for a separate call. The SIPserver then connects the calls for the media stream.

In one embodiment, the caller is first connected to a media server(e.g., 371, 373, or 379). For example, the SIP server may forward theSIP INVITE message to one or more of the media servers for answering thecall. When a media server (e.g., 371) answers the call, a prompt isplayed to the caller by the media server. The media server may includean Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, or be connected to an IVRsystem, to obtain input from the caller.

For example, the media server may prompt the caller to enter theextension assigned to the callee, such that the phone number of thecallee can be determined based on the phone number including theextension dialed by the caller. In some embodiments, the extensiondialed by the caller is sufficient to determine the phone number of thecallee. After the phone number of the callee is determined, the SIPserver can further connect the call to the callee.

For example, the media server can send a message to the SIP server. Themessage identifies the call and the extension obtained from the caller.The SIP server then determines the callee's phone number based at leaston the extension received from the media server and initiates a SIP callvia the packet switched network (353) (e.g., by sending a SIP INVITEmessage to the telecommunication carrier 275, which further bridges thecall to the callee 273). Then, the SIP server disconnects the mediaserver from the call and reconnects the call to the callee.

For example, the SIP server can send a SIP BYE message to the mediaserver to disconnect the media server from the call (e.g., by sending a“BYE” message to the media server for the call) and send a re-INVITEmessage towards the caller to connect the caller and the callee.Alternatively, the media server may send a SIP BYE message to the SIPserver for the call; the BYE message may include the extension obtainedfrom the caller; in response to the BYE message that contains theextension, the SIP server determines the phone number of the callee andfurther connects the caller to the callee.

In one embodiment, the SIP server can direct the caller and the calleeto connect to each other for the media stream without having the mediastream going through the session border controller (351) into theconnection server (355). For example, the media stream can go throughthe telecommunication carrier (275) in FIG. 12 without going to theconnection server (277) after the SIP server connects the caller and thecallee.

However, the SIP server stays on the signaling path to monitor theprogress and termination of the call. The SIP server can also break theconnection between the caller and the callee, or force the media streamto come through the connection serve (355). For example, the SIP servermay selectively conference a media server into the call to monitorand/or record the communication of the call between the caller and thecallee. For example, the SIP server may reconnect the caller and thecallee to separate media servers for interaction with an IVR system or ahuman operator to confirm a deal or transaction.

Similarly, the SIP server may initiate a callback to a caller via a SIPcall over the packet switched network (353) for a connection to thecaller. The SIP call may be bridged onto a circuit switched network(e.g., by a telecommunication carrier 275). The SIP server can thenreconnect the call to a media server for sending a prompt to the callerbefore reconnect the call to the callee. Alternatively, the callback canbe initiated from a media server; and the call signaling (e.g., theINVITE message from the media server) goes through the SIP server forcall control. Alternatively, the SIP server sends out the INVITE messageon behalf of the media server.

In one embodiment, the SIP servers (361, 363, . . . , 369) and mediaservers (371, 373, . . . , 379) are implemented on separate computersconnected via a local area network (and/or intranet or Internet).Alternatively, at least the some of the servers can be implemented on asame computer. In one embodiment, the SIP servers and the media serversare also integrated with the session border controller (351) on a samedata process system having multiple processors coupled with a data bus.In one embodiment, the SIP servers are coupled to the media servers viaa network; and a SIP server may use any of the available media serverfor interaction with the caller (or callee). Alternatively, a SIP servermay be configured to use one or more of media servers that are notshared by other SIP server. For example, a SIP server may be implementedon a same data processing system with one or more media servers whichare reserved for the SIP server.

In one embodiment, the connection server (355) may further include adatabase server (355) to storing records related to the calls, datamapping between the communication references assigned to the callees andthe actual phone numbers of the callees, etc. In one embodiment, contactmapping are cached in the local memory (e.g., RAM) of the servers forimproved performance; and the cached mapping is updated when thedatabase is updated.

FIG. 14 shows a block diagram example of a data processing system whichmay be used in various embodiments. While FIG. 14 illustrates variouscomponents of a computer system, it is not intended to represent anyparticular architecture or manner of interconnecting the components.Other systems that have fewer or more components may also be used.

In FIG. 14, the communication device (1101) is a form of a dataprocessing system. The system (1101) includes an inter-connect (1102)(e.g., bus and system core logic), which interconnects amicroprocessor(s) (1103) and memory (1108). The microprocessor (1103) iscoupled to cache memory (1104) in the example of FIG. 14.

The inter-connect (1102) interconnects the microprocessor(s) (1103) andthe memory (1108) together and also interconnects them to a displaycontroller and display device (1107) and to peripheral devices such asinput/output (I/O) devices (1105) through an input/output controller(s)(1106). Typical I/O devices include mice, keyboards, modems, networkinterfaces, printers, scanners, video cameras and other devices whichare well known in the art.

The inter-connect (1102) may include one or more buses connected to oneanother through various bridges, controllers and/or adapters. In oneembodiment the I/O controller (1106) includes a USB (Universal SerialBus) adapter for controlling USB peripherals, and/or an IEEE-1394 busadapter for controlling IEEE-1394 peripherals.

The memory (1108) may include ROM (Read Only Memory), and volatile RAM(Random Access Memory) and non-volatile memory, such as hard drive,flash memory, etc.

Volatile RAM is typically implemented as dynamic RAM (DRAM) whichrequires power continually in order to refresh or maintain the data inthe memory. Non-volatile memory is typically a magnetic hard drive, amagnetic optical drive, or an optical drive (e.g., a DVD RAM), or othertype of memory system which maintains data even after power is removedfrom the system. The non-volatile memory may also be a random accessmemory.

The non-volatile memory can be a local device coupled directly to therest of the components in the data processing system. A non-volatilememory that is remote from the system, such as a network storage devicecoupled to the data processing system through a network interface suchas a modem or Ethernet interface, can also be used.

In one embodiment, a server data processing system as illustrated inFIG. 14 is used as one of the communication server(s), virtual realityserver(s), connection server(s), database server(s), media server(s),controller(s), router(s), gateway(s), etc.

A user terminal as a client system can be a data processing systemsimilar to the system of FIG. 14. A client system can be in the form ofa PDA, a cellular phone, a notebook computer or a personal desktopcomputer. For example, the I/O devices of the user device may include aUSB phone, a Bluetooth wireless phone, or one or more speakers orheadphones with one or microphones for the implementation of a softwarebased phone.

In one embodiment, a user devices/phones support one or more real timecommunication capabilities, such as VoIP using Session InitiationProtocol (SIP) which may support video and instant-messagingapplications, IP phone, regular phone over VoIP service, Bluetoothwireless phone, USB phone, software based phone, and other forms of IPtelephony. Other types of traditional communication client(s) may beused in some embodiments.

FIG. 15 shows a method to facilitate real time communications betweenindirectly connected members of a social network according to oneembodiment. In FIG. 15, in response to a request received (1201) from afirst member of a social network, a preference of a second member of thesocial network is determined (1203) based at least in part on acharacteristic of a social connection between the first and secondmembers in the social network, where the first and second members haveno direct social connection in the social network. Real timecommunications between the first and second members are facilitated(1205) in accordance with the preference.

In one embodiment, the characteristic of the social connection may be asocial distance between the first and second members in the socialnetwork, or the presence of a third member pre-identified by the secondmember on the social connection between the first and second members.

In one embodiment, the request is received in a Voice over InternetProtocol (VoIP) client application of the first member; and the VoIPclient application initiates a communication connection to the secondmember according to the preference. In one embodiment, the communicationconnection supports real time communications between the first andsecond members in text, voice and/or video.

In one embodiment, data representing the social network of a pluralityof members, including the first member and the second member, ismaintained over a peer to peer communication network. In one embodiment,data indicating the online presence of the plurality of members is alsomaintained over the peer to peer communication network.

In one embodiment, the VoIP client application provides information topresent the second member to the first member, the information includinga reference selectable by the first member to initiate the request, suchas a link or an image icon.

In one embodiment, the information provided to present the second memberfurther includes an indication of real time availability of the secondmember to communicate with the first member in real time at a time theinformation is presented. The real time availability of the secondmember to communicate in real time with the first member may be basedupon a characteristic of the social connection between the first andsecond member in the social network, such as a social distance, a pathof the social connection that goes through a particular friend of thesecond member, etc.

In one embodiment, the information provided by the VoIP clientapplication to present the second member includes at least a portion ofprofile data of the second member, such as questions asked, answersprovided, credentials earned, recommendations from other members, numberof direct social connections with other members, education experiences,work experiences, industry of employment, geographic area, etc.

In one embodiment, the portion of the profile data is selected based ona characteristic of the social connection between the first and secondmember. For example, different portions of the profile data may beselected based on different social distances between the members.

In one embodiment, the preference comprises a price specified by thesecond member for real time communications with the second member, whichmay be dependent on a social distance between the first and secondmember in the social network. In one embodiment, the second member ischarged a portion of an amount the first member is charged according tothe price specified by the second member.

In one embodiment, the preference includes permission for initiatingreal time communications from members of the social network; and thepermission is dependent on the characteristic of the social connectionbetween the first and second members in the social network.

In one embodiment, the preference includes a scheduled callable periodof the second member, which may be dependent on the characteristic ofthe social connection between the first and second members in the socialnetwork.

From this description, it will be appreciated that certain aspects areembodied in the user devices, certain aspects are embodied in the serversystems, and certain aspects are embodied in a system as a whole.Embodiments disclosed can be implemented using hardware, programs ofinstruction, or combinations of hardware and programs of instructions.

In general, routines executed to implement the embodiments may beimplemented as part of an operating system or a specific application,component, program, object, module or sequence of instructions referredto as “computer programs.” The computer programs typically comprise oneor more instructions set at various times in various memory and storagedevices in a computer, and that, when read and executed by one or moreprocessors in a computer, cause the computer to perform operationsnecessary to execute elements involving the various aspects.

While some embodiments have been described in the context of fullyfunctioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that various embodiments are capable of beingdistributed as a program product in a variety of forms and are capableof being applied regardless of the particular type of machine orcomputer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution.

Examples of computer-readable media include but are not limited torecordable and non-recordable type media such as volatile andnon-volatile memory devices, read only memory (ROM), random accessmemory (RAM), flash memory devices, floppy and other removable disks,magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media (e.g., Compact DiskRead-Only Memory (CD ROMS), Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs), etc.), amongothers. The instructions may be embodied in digital and analogcommunication links for electrical, optical, acoustical or other formsof propagated signals, such as carrier waves, infrared signals, digitalsignals, etc.

A machine readable medium can be used to store software and data whichwhen executed by a data processing system causes the system to performvarious methods. The executable software and data may be stored invarious places including for example ROM, volatile RAM, non-volatilememory and/or cache. Portions of this software and/or data may be storedin any one of these storage devices.

In general, a machine readable medium includes any mechanism thatprovides (i.e., stores and/or transmits) information in a formaccessible by a machine (e.g., a computer, network device, personaldigital assistant, manufacturing tool, any device with a set of one ormore processors, etc.).

Aspects disclosed may be embodied, at least in part, in software. Thatis, the techniques may be carried out in a computer system or other dataprocessing system in response to its processor, such as amicroprocessor, executing sequences of instructions contained in amemory, such as ROM, volatile RAM, non-volatile memory, cache or aremote storage device.

In various embodiments, hardwired circuitry may be used in combinationwith software instructions to implement the techniques. Thus, thetechniques are not limited to any specific combination of hardwarecircuitry and software nor to any particular source for the instructionsexecuted by the data processing system.

In this description, various functions and operations are described asbeing performed by or caused by software code to simplify description.However, those skilled in the art will recognize what is meant by suchexpressions is that the functions result from execution of the code by aprocessor, such as a microprocessor.

Although some of the drawings illustrate a number of operations in aparticular order, operations which are not order dependent may bereordered and other operations may be combined or broken out. While somereordering or other groupings are specifically mentioned, others will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art and so do not present anexhaustive list of alternatives. Moreover, it should be recognized thatthe stages could be implemented in hardware, firmware, software or anycombination thereof.

Although the disclosure has been provided with reference to specificexemplary embodiments, it will be evident that the various modificationand changes can be made to these embodiments without departing from thebroader spirit as set forth in the claims. Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative senserather than in a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: determining, via acomputing device, responsive to a request from a first member of asocial network, a preference of a second member of the social networkcomprising a scheduled callable period of the second member and a socialdistance limit pre-identified by the second member; wherein thedetermining is based at least in part on characteristics of a socialconnection between the first member and the second member in the socialnetwork, the first member and the second member having no direct socialconnection in the social network, the characteristics of the socialconnection comprising: the presence of a third member pre-identified bythe second member on the social connection between the first member andthe second member; and a social distance between the first member andthe second member in the social network, wherein the social distancedoes not exceed the social distance limit pre-identified by the secondmember; identifying, via the computing device, a price specified by thesecond member for real time communications with the second member,wherein the price is dependent on the social distance between the firstmember and the second member in the social network; and facilitating areal time communications connection between the first member and thesecond member in accordance with the preference; and identifying anamount for charging the second member, wherein the amount is dependenton the social distance between the first member and the second member inthe social network.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the request isreceived in a voice over Internet protocol client application of thefirst member; and the voice over Internet protocol client applicationinitiates the real time communications connection with the second memberaccording to the preference.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the realtime communications connection supports real time communications betweenthe first and second members in one of text, voice and video.
 4. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising: providing information to presentthe second member to the first member, the information including areference selectable by the first member to initiate the request.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, wherein the information provided to present thesecond member to the first member further includes an indication of realtime availability of the second member to communicate with the firstmember in real time at a time the information is presented, theinformation provided by a server.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein thereal time availability of the second member to communicate in real timewith the first member is based upon a characteristic of the socialconnection between the first member and the second member in the socialnetwork.
 7. The method of claim 4, further comprising: maintaining datarepresenting the social network of a plurality of members, including thefirst member and the second member, over a peer to peer communicationnetwork.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: maintaining dataindicating online presence of the plurality of members over the peer topeer communication network.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein theinformation provided by the voice over Internet protocol clientapplication includes at least a portion of profile data of the secondmember.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the portion of the profiledata is selected based on one or more of the characteristics of thesocial connection between the first and second member.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: charging the second member the amount forcharging the second member, wherein the amount for charging the secondmember corresponds to a portion of an amount the first member is chargedaccording to the price specified by the second member.
 12. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the preference additionally comprises a permission forinitiating real time communications from members of the social network;and wherein the permission is dependent on one or more of thecharacteristics of the social connection between the first and secondmembers in the social network.
 13. A tangible machine readable mediumstoring instructions that, when executed by a computing device, causethe computing device to perform a method, the method comprising:determining, responsive to a request from a first member of a socialnetwork, a preference of a second member of the social networkcomprising a scheduled callable period of the second member and a socialdistance limit pre-identified by the second member; wherein thedetermining is based at least in part on characteristics of a socialconnection between the first member and the second member in the socialnetwork, the first member and the second member having no direct socialconnection in the social network, the characteristics of the socialconnection comprising: the presence of a third member pre-identified bythe second member on the social connection between the first member andthe second member; and a social distance between the first member andthe second member in the social network, wherein the social distancedoes not exceed the social distance limit pre-identified by the secondmember; and identifying a price specified by the second member for realtime communications with the second member, wherein the price isdependent on the social distance between the first member and the secondmember in the social network; and facilitating a real timecommunications connection between the first member and the second memberin accordance with the preference; and identifying an amount forcharging the second member, wherein the amount is dependent on thesocial distance between the first member and the second member in thesocial network.
 14. A computer system, comprising: at least one serverconfigured to: determining, responsive to a request from a first memberof a social network, a preference of a second member of the socialnetwork comprising a scheduled callable period of the second member anda social distance limit pre-identified by the second member; wherein thedetermining is based at least in part on characteristics of a socialconnection between the first member and the second member in the socialnetwork, the first member and the second member having no direct socialconnection in the social network, the characteristics of the socialconnection: the presence of a third member pre-identified by the secondmember on the social connection between the first member and the secondmember; and a social distance between the first member and the secondmember in the social network, wherein the social distance does notexceed the social distance limit pre-identified by the second member;and identifying a price specified by the second member for real timecommunications with the second member, wherein the price is dependent onthe social distance between the first member and the second member inthe social network; and facilitate a real time communications connectionbetween the first member and the second member in accordance with thepreference; and identify an amount for charging the second member,wherein the amount is dependent on the social distance between the firstmember and the second member in the social network.